Allison and Bassett review paper on climate change, oceans and societies published in Science

Professor Allison and Graduate Student and Research Assistant, Hannah Bassett, authored a review paper published in Science this past week. The paper, "Climate change in the oceans: Human impacts and responses" was part of a special issue of Science dedicated to informing the upcoming COP21 meeting in Paris.

The 2015 Paris Climate Conference, or COP21, will convene 195 countries with the aim of achieving a legally binding and universal agreement to keep global warming below 2°C. Prior COP meetings have been significant historically, with adoption of the Kyoto Protocol taking place at COP3 and initiation of the Green Climate Fund occurring at COP17 in Durban.

In the review, Allison and Bassett discuss impacts of ocean climate change on societies, societal responses, and possible roles of the ocean in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As a call to action, they draw attention to the need for increased climate science and policy that focuses on effects of climate change on the oceans, human systems and their interactions.

The release of this paper was covered in UW Today and the full paper can be accessed here.